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The objective in the game is to lead the character, Ivy, a newly born bird, to her lost mother. The game is similar to Kirby: Canvas Curse because the player does not directly control the main character. In the game, Ivy is constantly moving directly right or left, unless presented with something in her way, in which case she turns around and moves the other direction. The player takes advantage of this by drawing lines to guide the chick away from danger and to the goal. The player can make ramp lines to have Ivy walk up or down, make vertical lines to reverse her direction, or pull the vines and slingshot Ivy in a given direction. Ultimately, the player must lead Ivy away from obstacles such as spikes or rats and to the end goal.[2]

The game features several different modes. The main game is where levels are simply played in order. Another mode lets the player play any level that has been previously played in the main game to try to beat the high scores. There are also two different way to play multiplayer. One is the competitive multiplayer mode, where up to four players can compete to see who can get their Kiwi to the goal fastest, the tricky part being that any player can interact with any other player's Kiwi as well. Separately from this mode, at any point, up to four players can chose to play cooperatively to help the first player in the main game.

The Wii and Nintendo DS versions offer the same basic gameplay and level designs, with the main difference being the controls. In the Wii version, the player points at the screen to draw vines, while in the Nintendo DS version the player uses the stylus.

The original Japanese version of the game had a more muted color scheme, while more colorful backgrounds were added in the international releases at the request of publishers.[3]

The full retail versions of Ivy The Kiwi? for the Wii and Nintendo DS have 100 levels, while the mini version available for DSiWare only has 50 levels. While the game originally began development as a WiiWare game, that version was cancelled as Yuji Naka began adding more features and ideas.[4]

The game received positive reviews following its release. Gamingtrend's Mike Repella praised the innovative use of the Wii remote controller, stating "I suspect that when Yuji Naka set out to make Ivy the Kiwi he wanted to make game for the Wii that actually used the Wiimote to create a classic style game. To that end I think he succeeded." [5]Official Nintendo Magazine awarded the Wii version 70% and called it a "fun platformer with a twist, held back by a lack of ambition and some frustrating later levels".[6]